Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania
Paying off loans
I was contacted by a United Processing company yesterday. They told me that they have a warrant out for my arrest for insurance fraud. They told me the reasons was because I had taken a payday loan and it took me a lot longer then expected to pay it back. United Processing said the loan agency no longer wanted my money and they would be sending out someone to pick me up and put me in jail. I panicked and said I would do anything I can to not let someone come and get me, since I was at work and it would ruin my professional reputation. So they told me if I paid $580 it would completley take care of everything and I would be free from them. My question is...was it possible for them to turn this into a bad situation, and have someone come out and get me, and I become arrested for taking longer then expected to pay back a loan? Another question I have is..this might be only a coincidence but i had just received my tax refund the day before, and i feel they might have tapped into my bank account to see if I had the money, and its a very big coincidence that they called the next day. I hope this is understandable, please contact me, I need to know if I did something wrong or not.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Paying off loans
This does not sound legitimate. I would contact your local District Attorney's office and give them all the facts to see if they will investigate.
Re: Paying off loans
1. A creditor cannot arrest you for failing to pay back a loan - there hasn
t been a debtor's prison for probably 200 years.
2. What you were told, if proven, is a clear violation of Federal Law. You should contact an attorney experienced in representing debtors to see if the attorney will take the case. You may be able to get money from the debt collector and the creditor.
3. A creditor cannot attach your bank account until a judgment has been entered in the court. Unless you signed a document which would allow the creditor to obtain an immediate judgment, the creditor would have to file a law suit against you, for which you will receive notice, and have a hearing before a judge. Good luck!!
Re: Paying off loans
There was a collection agency in New Jersey doing this type of thing. It is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Federal Trade Commission fined them a whole lot of money and enjoined them from continuing to do this. This outfit that you mention is apparently a Florida Corporation and from reading a couple of other accounts of them on the internet, I think you should complain to the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General. I would be happy to discuss this with you further.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
